MakerLab obtains Corporate Support

Over the past couple of months, the MakerLab has obtained significant support from a number of corporations. JP Morgan executives (including alum Jason Mueller) visited the lab this past fall and provided us with a sizable financial gift in support of our operations. This gift was followed by an innovation grant from Procter & Gamble to support our new Making Things class. Most recently, Intel (via assistance from the Illinois Electrical Engineering Dept) provided our Lab with five new Galileo micro-controller boards. These boards will enable our users to create smart products by integrating 3D printing and embedded computing. We are grateful to JP Morgan, P&G, and Intel for their generous support. These visionary firms clearly see the potential of the emerging maker movement. If you need more information about the ways our Lab seeks to engage with corporations, please review our corporate opportunities guide.

Looking Back and Moving Forward

2013 was a busy year in the World’s First Business School 3D Printing Lab and the New Year promises to be even busier. Here are some highlights of what we’ve done thus far and the new initiatives on our agenda:

2013 Highlights

• In February, the MakerLab opened with six 3D printers in a 300 square foot space in the Surveying Building. In September, the Lab moved to its new location in the Business Instructional Facility. Our new Lab is over 500 square feet and is equipped with twelve 3D printers, six computers, three 3D scanners, and a 70 inch monitor. We are grateful to Dean Larry DeBrock for his support of our lab and for providing us this great new space.
• During 2013, our lab hosted over 1,000 users (walk-ins and at special events), who printed over 100 pounds of thermoplastic. This is equivalent to 2,500 iPhone cases! During this time we put over 5000 hours on our printers.
• Our Lab was selected as one of four destinations on campus to host key donors during the recent U of I Foundation Weekend.
• We received a $6,900 Innovation Grant from Procter & Gamble and a $1,000 donation from an alum who works for JP Morgan.
• We offered a series of free workshops on such topics as How to Create 3D Designs, How to Scan Objects with your iPhone and How to Create your Own Electronics.
• We formed an Advisory Board. Our first two board members are Erwin Cruz (Director of Innovation for Grainger) and Zach Kaplan (Founder and CEO of Inventables).
• We received a significant amount Media Coverage.
• Finally, we also made several interesting things and featured some Makers as well.

2014 Initiatives

• We will be giving presentations about our Lab at key alumni events in Phoenix & Tucson, Arizona and Naples, Florida.
• We will open a MakerLab Store, which will sell objects printed in our lab.
• We plan to hold a 3D printing conference on campus in either late April or early May.
• We will be teaching an innovative new course ("Making Things"). This course will be taught in our lab and will ask teams of students from business, engineering and design to conceptualize, design, prototype, manufacture, and market a new object.

We are thankful for the support that we have received from faculty, students, alumni, and friends. We are happy that we have been able to make an important impact during our first year as the World’s First 3D Printing Lab and look forward to what the new year will bring!

Drywall goes Up in our New Home!

A quick update on the progress of our new home in the Business Instructional Facility: --The frames for both our front & side doors have been installed

--Drywall is going up

--Electrical lines and outlets are being installed

The picture below shows the side entrance and north wall of our new lab. So far, we are on schedule for a move in by September 1. More updates to follow!

MakerLab visits Innovation Factory, 3DPX and 1871 in Chicago

The MakerLab recently visited Chicago to connect with Makers at the Innovation Factory, 3D Printing Experience (3DPX) and 1871. Chicago is quickly establishing itself a hotbed of innovation and has a growing number of entrepreneurs interested in making things. We are also fortunate to meet several other entrepreneurs such as Zach Kaplan CEO of Inventables at the Illinois Manufacturing Laboratory listening session organized by Neil Kane. We are eager to connect with Chicago-based makers and facilitate their innovation activities. As part of this goal, we will be presenting an Introduction to 3D Printing and the Illinois MakerLab at the Illini Center in downtown Chicago later this summer. You can also catch us presenting at the Inside 3D printing conference in Chicago, on July 11, from 2:00 to 2:45 pm.   More details will follow shortly.

Any Early Preview of our New Home!

Exciting news! Work has begun for our new home in the Business Instructional Facility. This new space will expand our workspace by 50%, provide us with greater visibility, and make our lab more accessible to Illinois students and faculty. Our anticipated move-in date is September 1 and we plan to have a Grand Opening Event in October. During the course of the summer, we will post updates on the renovation progress. Stay tuned!

MakerLab meets MakerBot

Director of the Illinois MakerLab, Vishal Sachdev is recently attended the  Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo in NYC. This was the world's first business to business conference on 3D printing and brings together several 3D printing luminaries, including Bre Pettis, Hod Lipson, and Terry Wohlers, among others. Topics include: 3D printing in Aerospace & Automotive, 3D design tools, and the Impact of 3D printing on art and fashion. We are proud to be participating (this time as just an attendee) at this conference and are spreading the word about our Lab!